Joint statement by Intelligence Committee Chair and Deputy

The Chair, Mr Andrew Hastie MP, and the Deputy Chair, Mr Anthony Byrne MP, of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security make the following joint statement:

“The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security continues to actively consider a request from the Minister for Home Affairs to accelerate its review of the Telecommunications and Other Legislation (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018.

“The Committee this morning held four hours of Top Secret classified briefings from agencies on the operational necessity of an urgent progression of the Bill. The Committee heard from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, the Australian Signals Directorate and the Department of Home Affairs. The Committee also held two hours of public hearings with the same agencies this afternoon.

“The Committee continues to operate in a cooperative and bipartisan fashion as it considers options for the remainder of its inquiry.

“The Committee will publicly announce any changes to its remaining scheduled hearings after consideration of the evidence heard today.”